Schedule fell behind; 40 min late to start. While everyone else was standing around and restless, I stretched my calves, hips, arms and shoulders, then sat down and relaxed.
8:00 a.m.: got up to check wave status. New start time 8:15. Slowly got into wetsuit and put on cap and goggles and lined up. Fin-all-y race time. A single flutter of nerves then it vanished. Thinking about race objectives: relaxed swim, quick transitions, smooth bike – set it all up for a ramping run.
Swim [13:54]: off we go. Started off to the right because it appeared to be a straighter shot to the turn buoy. Overshot that estimate, should have started further left as course was fairly straight and true. Arms are still tired. Catch feels weak. Trying to make it long and strong. Keep veering a tad right. Sighting was fine; believe right arm was less fatigued than left. Repositioned to aim closer to turn buoy. Pacing was fine; perhaps a little too relaxed. Had to weave a little coming into swim out. Came out 2nd in AG, saw 1st just ahead but kept objectives in mind and didn’t try to shoot ahead.
T1 [2:33]: felt so slow even though I only had four things to do: remove wetsuit, tie up hair (I know you’ll ask about this, but I can’t put it up in my swim cap), put on shoes and helmet and go. Freaking wetsuit was stuck on chip. Had to sit down and shove my hands up into the wetsuit and around the chip to get it off. So annoying. Otherwise no issues with hair, shoes, or helmet. Long run with the bike out of transition.
Bike [39:14]: legs still feeling a little tired; that shook off after about 2 miles. Felt so smooth with the new fit. Noticed around mi4 that I was unintentionally at 168W. Backed it off for the remainder. Still finished at 157W (101%FTP), passed many and only passed by 2 older ladies and a handful of super-fast men on decked out TT bikes.
Minimal nutrition: 1 packet Heed mixed in 20oz water – drank about 8 - 10oz
T2 [1:44]: Long run with the bike in. Felt slow, but again, only had three things to do: switch shoes, helmet off, race belt on. Sunglasses and race belt while running out.
Run [28:57]: calves are so tight. Feel rickety. Pace was a bit hot coming out of transition. Saw hardly any bikes – passed the 1st woman out of the water on the bike. Thought I might be in 1st place AG. Didn’t want to back off too much. Focused on following through with even form on both legs. Still felt rickety. Had to continue to focus and bring my pace down in the 2nd mile. Quick shots of water at mi 1 and mi 2. Woman in my AG passed me, thought two others had, too, so was okay slowing down a little. Still wanted to press on in the 3rd mi to achieve negative split and saw other racers closing in. Was really pushing it and so uncomfortable coming into the finish. Didn’t want to give up position. Turns out the next finisher was well enough behind and the two other women were in the Olympic race. Thought I had blown my lead on the run but no instead I blew 1st by less than a minute letting that first woman pass me! Darn it. But I know I gave it what I had and I’ll completely take the 2nd place podium for this one.
Overall: because I didn’t have huge expectations for this race, nothing caused particular anxiety. What a strange situation – that rarely happens going into a race! The effect was great – good sleep, no exacerbated GI issues. Fairly relaxed race even though the run was so uncomfortable. Really inspired confidence in myself even though the newbie field flings some doubt around about whether I really earned it (I know I did, but it feels less badass).
8:00 a.m.: got up to check wave status. New start time 8:15. Slowly got into wetsuit and put on cap and goggles and lined up. Fin-all-y race time. A single flutter of nerves then it vanished. Thinking about race objectives: relaxed swim, quick transitions, smooth bike – set it all up for a ramping run.
Swim [13:54]: off we go. Started off to the right because it appeared to be a straighter shot to the turn buoy. Overshot that estimate, should have started further left as course was fairly straight and true. Arms are still tired. Catch feels weak. Trying to make it long and strong. Keep veering a tad right. Sighting was fine; believe right arm was less fatigued than left. Repositioned to aim closer to turn buoy. Pacing was fine; perhaps a little too relaxed. Had to weave a little coming into swim out. Came out 2nd in AG, saw 1st just ahead but kept objectives in mind and didn’t try to shoot ahead.
T1 [2:33]: felt so slow even though I only had four things to do: remove wetsuit, tie up hair (I know you’ll ask about this, but I can’t put it up in my swim cap), put on shoes and helmet and go. Freaking wetsuit was stuck on chip. Had to sit down and shove my hands up into the wetsuit and around the chip to get it off. So annoying. Otherwise no issues with hair, shoes, or helmet. Long run with the bike out of transition.
Bike [39:14]: legs still feeling a little tired; that shook off after about 2 miles. Felt so smooth with the new fit. Noticed around mi4 that I was unintentionally at 168W. Backed it off for the remainder. Still finished at 157W (101%FTP), passed many and only passed by 2 older ladies and a handful of super-fast men on decked out TT bikes.
Minimal nutrition: 1 packet Heed mixed in 20oz water – drank about 8 - 10oz
T2 [1:44]: Long run with the bike in. Felt slow, but again, only had three things to do: switch shoes, helmet off, race belt on. Sunglasses and race belt while running out.
Run [28:57]: calves are so tight. Feel rickety. Pace was a bit hot coming out of transition. Saw hardly any bikes – passed the 1st woman out of the water on the bike. Thought I might be in 1st place AG. Didn’t want to back off too much. Focused on following through with even form on both legs. Still felt rickety. Had to continue to focus and bring my pace down in the 2nd mile. Quick shots of water at mi 1 and mi 2. Woman in my AG passed me, thought two others had, too, so was okay slowing down a little. Still wanted to press on in the 3rd mi to achieve negative split and saw other racers closing in. Was really pushing it and so uncomfortable coming into the finish. Didn’t want to give up position. Turns out the next finisher was well enough behind and the two other women were in the Olympic race. Thought I had blown my lead on the run but no instead I blew 1st by less than a minute letting that first woman pass me! Darn it. But I know I gave it what I had and I’ll completely take the 2nd place podium for this one.
Overall: because I didn’t have huge expectations for this race, nothing caused particular anxiety. What a strange situation – that rarely happens going into a race! The effect was great – good sleep, no exacerbated GI issues. Fairly relaxed race even though the run was so uncomfortable. Really inspired confidence in myself even though the newbie field flings some doubt around about whether I really earned it (I know I did, but it feels less badass).
RSS Feed
